Just a Dance
by chzahradsfdas
Summary: Mark and Joanne get together for another dance session. Just some fun, light, dancing, a little fluff, a kiss but that's it.


"Where'd you learn to tango?"

A seemingly innocent question, but I wasn't prepared for all of the memories it brought back.

After all, tangoing wasn't the _only_ thing Nanette and I did.

I could see from Joanne's slight flush that it was the same for her.

I managed to stave off the sudden tight feeling in my stomach, concentrating only on the dance, _step here, now here_…

By the time our dance came to an end, I was feeling almost completely normal.

That is, until Maureen called.

And then, all of a sudden, I was ready to screw anything in sight, lesbian or no lesbian, as was always the case when faced with Maureen.

But I held my breath and made it out, throwing a joking, "We should do it again sometime," over my shoulder. I was surprised when she smiled and nodded.

So that's where I was now, at Joanne's apartment.

It was more than awkward, I have to say, planning around to make sure Maureen was somewhere else, so that Joanne and I could get together and dance.

_Oh, god, that sounds so wrong._

_Dancing, that's it._

_When you put in "tango," it sounds even worse._

_This isn't helping my increasing libido._

She smiled as she greeted me at the door; surprising, because I could have sworn she didn't like me when last we met. I guess something about our tirade at the Life had made her more open to people like me.

Joanne's apartment was actually pretty nice; at any rate, it was nicer than our loft. Her furniture was obviously not found in a near-by alley. It was all extremely clean and spacious.

The room Joanne led me to was clearly the living room, though the coffee table had been pushed out of the way, so that there was more room in front of the couch.

Another nod to Joanne's cleanliness. The couch was white, but it had not a spot on it. Clearly, Maureen was not allowed to sit here.

We had music this time, because it was an actual dance session, not just an impromptu dance-in-the-lot, played from an old boom-box. It was somewhat familiar, though not in a striking way, like I guess all music of this type would be.

I bowed to her, a silly smile on my face, and held out my hand, much like our first time.

Except that this time, she was smiling.

And we danced.

It felt surprisingly good to do something that would usually go so against my nature. I could feel, from the way we held each other, the way we moved as we danced, differently this time than the first, that we had that inexplicable trust in each other that only dance partners could have.

It was odd that I was having so much fun. I could feel the grin on my face, seeing hers as well.

Then, finally, the song ended, and, flushed, grinning, and breathless, we turned and sat down on the couch, my arm slung over her shoulders.

"That was…" I paused, unable to think of the word.

"It was brilliant," Joanne said, leaning into me.

"Yeah," I said, leaning back and closing my eyes as I tried to catch my breath.

She slid her hand behind my back to wrap it around my shoulders.

"We should do it again." I could hear the smile in her voice.

"It's a great stress release," I said, laughing as I sat up, turning to look her in the face.

I suddenly felt this strange urge to kiss her.

Maybe it was just the euphoria from throwing my energy into the dance, maybe it was hormones, maybe it was something else, but for whatever reason, I found myself staring at her mouth.

Her lips were still curved up in that smile, and as I glanced up in her eyes, she was staring at my mouth, too.

_What the hell_, I thought, and leaned in to close the distance between us.

_She didn't pull back_, that was my first thought. _Oh my god, she's kissing me back_, was my second.

My eyes were closed, and feelings are so much more when you're blind, so I just sat there and just _felt_ and it was amazing, maybe the best kiss I'd ever had, but we pulled away nonetheless.

She was still smiling, her face flushed a bit, as probably was mine.

"I should probably go…" I said reluctantly, though I made no move to get up.

Joanne's smile faded a bit, but she nodded. "She'll be home soon," she said, and we both knew who she met. "I'll walk you to the door."

I threw on my coat and scarf and followed her to the door.

I turned as I was about to step out. "Thanks for everything." I smiled.

She kissed me again, a shorter kiss this time, and smiled, and said "Anytime," and shut the door.

I don't think I stopped smiling the whole way home.


End file.
